Easy Do It Yourself Fascist Handbook Part II

Last week I got a little carried away talking about the current tactic of using classical liberal values such as free speech, tolerance, and unity, against liberal democracy. I focused so intently on that basic tactic that I abandoned the overall strategic survey of the newly unified and energized far right. For that, I apologize. Let us return then to examining these groups and their motivations.

First a question, why should we care about the sometimes subtle differences and aims of these groups? They took up arms against American democracy and should be treated like any external terror group right? Maybe so, but what that actually calls for is study to understand them, not merely labeling them “bad guys”. The Taliban and Al Qaeda were both American adversaries in Afghanistan, but had vastly different ideology, composition, and tactics. The Taliban, for example, tended to be native tribal fighters with extremely fluid loyalties and almost entirely local concerns. Al Qaeda were foreign fighters with a starkly different interpretation of Islam, and a global agenda. Some Taliban leaders would regard winning control of a local provincial government as a final victory and show a willingness to negotiate to consolidate their gains; Al Qaeda operatives could never operate a local government in Afghanistan and would never try. A victory for them was a mass casualty incident that hurt the government in Kabul and killed Americans. Knowing what drives a group and what they want to accomplish is essential for combating them.